Category Archives: Designer Blogs

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1848: The Springtime of Nations — Revolutions

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In Europe, the year 1848 was defined by a series of revolutions that swept the continent from west to east, from France to the eastern borders of the Austrian Empire and Romania. Obviously, therefore, a game about this series of events must make an effort to simulate the multiple revolutions of the era as core part of the game, and in a CDG based on the system originating with Twilight Struggle this means revolutions need to arise from the players’ efforts – from gameplay – rather than just the “deus ex machina” of event cards.

Fortunately, there is an existing model to draw from. Players familiar with 1989: Dawn of Freedom (henceforth 1989) will quickly understand that Revolutions in 1848: The Springtime of Nations (henceforth 1848) are very similar to the Power Struggles in that game. In 1848, Revolutions are the most prevalent source of VPs, and most of the actions players take are aimed at setting up an advantageous position for these showdowns that take place across the nations and empires depicted in the game.

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Fields of Fire Volume 3: The Parachute Regiment, Episode 2 – Falklands

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Note: All game images are of Vassal playtest art and not final

Volume 3 of Fields of Fire brings three campaigns featuring The British Army – the Battle of Arnhem in 1944, the Falklands War in 1982, and Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2008.

Previous Article: Episode 1 – Arnhem

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Roots of Decisive Action

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Flipping through the pages of Military Modeler magazine as a twelve-year-old kid, I and found scattered throughout ads for board wargames. Who would have thought that these games would help lead me down the path to becoming an Armored Cavalry officer and serve in the U.S. Army for twenty-five years? Then to a further career as a civilian working in the Department of Defense, then to design my own historical board wargames, and now finally to designing my own modern tactical wargame?

SPI game advertisement

Before all that, I had some lawns to mow. A lot of lawns.

When I finally saved up enough, the first game I ordered from one of those ads was MechWar ’77, a 1975 Simulations Publications, Inc. release by Jim Dunningan. I soloed it countless times, picturing myself fighting the Soviets in the fields of Cold War Germany. I also played Dunnigan’s Firefight (1976) and Mark Herman’s innovative MechWar 2 (1979), all piquing my fascination with modern tactical warfare. I entered the United States Military Academy in 1981, though it would be many more years before I would design my own game.   

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The Iron Storm Game Engine

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In this article I will talk about the game engine behind Iron Storm, the main mechanics of this system that I have invented. Some time ago there were not so many strategic World War I games, but in the last few years there have been a number of them released. Many people interested in Iron Storm ask how is this game different from the others? I would say that, apart from the fact that the entire war can be played realistically in one session, what is different is the game system. I think the system is innovative enough that it doesn’t look too much like any other published wargame.

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Fields of Fire Volume 3: The Parachute Regiment, Episode 1 – Arnhem

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Note: All images are of playtest art and not final

Volume 3 of Fields of Fire brings three campaigns – the Battle of Arnhem in 1944, the Falklands War in 1982, and Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2008.

Although I can’t necessarily speak for a non-British audience, ‘Operation Market Garden’ and the battle of Arnhem is pretty well embedded in the mind of the public; mostly through repeats of the film ‘A Bridge Too Far’ every Christmas! But who can not be interested in the audacious operation to seize a route through the German-occupied Netherlands in an attempt to bypass the heavily defended ‘Siegfried Line’ along the German border? It’s a tale of daring, bravery, stubborn resistance and, ultimately, hopelessness, as the British Armoured Corps racing northwards to link up with the paratroopers dropped 60 miles behind enemy lines never made it in time.

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Video: Initial US Special Activations in Mr. President

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Hi everyone! I made this second video to take a look at the initial U.S. special activations phase in Mr. President. It should be helpful to you as you get your games over the coming weeks. Here’s a link to my first video discussing start of game strategy for anyone interested. I hope you all have a great time with Mr. President! – Gene

Previous Article:

Video: Start of Game Strategy in Mr. President

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Napoleon in Egypt: Dramatis Personae, Part 2

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Article written by Pascal Toupy and Tom Toupy-Durant

In our previous article, we took our first look at the great men who accompanied Bonaparte on his campaign in Egypt and Syria. Let’s continue today with two formidable cavalry commanders who would become Marshals of the Empire: Davout and Murat.

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Video: Start of Game Strategy in Mr. President

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Hi everyone! I made this video to take a look at initial strategies in Mr. President. It should be helpful to you as you get your games over the coming weeks. I hope you all have a great time with Mr. President! – Gene

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The Camden Burials: A Travelogue

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Mark Miklos, designer of GMT’s 10-volume Battles of the American Revolution series, recently attended the Camden Burials honoring fallen soldiers from the 1780 Battle of Camden, South Carolina and shares his experience in the following article. Enjoy! -Rachel

It has been suggested by author David Smith in his book, Camden, 1780 (Osprey Campaign Series, #292) that fully one third of all the battlefield casualties suffered by American arms during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution occurred at the Battle of Camden.  It is no surprise, therefore, that relic hunters in the 1990s stumbled upon the shallow grave of a soldier while digging for musket balls, buttons and other artifacts of war.

That chance encounter was later verified by Mr. James Legg, Archeologist with the University of South Carolina’s Institute of Archeology & Anthropology in 2001.  Tasked with surveying the battlefield, which then as now is primarily undeveloped long-leaf pine forest, Legg thought to interview relic hunters who had been scouring the area for decades.  As a consequence of those interviews and his own exhaustive, 20-year effort to find artifacts, another thirteen bodies were discovered and the Camden Burials project was eventually born.  Forensic anthropologists working for the Kershaw County, South Carolina Coroner’s Office were enlisted in 2020 and tasked with the exhumations and the study of the remains. 

More recently the American Battlefield Trust, working in cooperation with the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust and the Historic Camden Foundation, has been granted an easement by the timber company that currently owns the land, to interpret the site.  In addition, the battlefield has been added to the Liberty Trail, a comprehensive network of historic sites and parks spread across the state to highlight the pivotal role South Carolina played during the struggle for American Independence.  

When it was announced that a reburial with full military honors would be held for these soldiers, and given that Camden is only a three and a half hour drive from my home in the Atlanta area, I made it a priority to attend.  The ceremonies were held April 20-22, 2023.  The impact they made on me will last a lifetime.        

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Congress of Vienna Detailed Example of Play– Part 2 of 2: The Government Phase, War Phase through End of Turn

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Introduction by Fred Schachter, Assistant Designer & Editor: As this article’s preceding Part 1 of 2 explained, what you have here is an excerpt from Congress of Vienna’s Playbook, it’s Section 16, which provides a detailed example of a turn’s play from the “Clash of Armies” scenario. It features Terry Leeds’ beautiful graphics for this upcoming P-500 game’s components.

For more, much more, regarding Congress of Vienna, see GMT’s site for the game at: GMT Games – Congress of Vienna. This includes a four turn After-Action Report of a full “Clash of Armies” scenario (albeit using an early CoV Vassal Module lacking Terry’s eye-catching game board graphics).

Now, without further ado, let’s resume the action with this Detailed Example of Play’s CoV Government Phase…